Illustrations Challenge
by Teej
Summary: Series of drabbles in answer to a Word Challenge Series
1. Aftermath

My very stubborn Musae (aka The Wenches) haven't been able to produce a full blown story for well over 18 months now. To keep going I have been answering challenges from the writing section at The Heart of Camelot, a multifandom site for writers and graphic artists alike. This here is a new set of answers from a previous challenge called "Illustrations" where you have to write an answer between 100 - 300 words for an emotion.

Challenge Number 12: Cruelty (300 Words)

" **Aftermath"**

Ellingham shut himself inside the bathroom stall, faced the toilet and leaned wearily back against the door. He was still in his scrubs. The taste of bile and vomit lingered in his mouth. He felt more exhausted than at any other time in his life that he could remember.

It had to be the exhaustion, he tried to tell himself as he stared off into the middle distance, feeling the tightness in his shoulders. A horrific set of circumstances had led him to be standing there in a hospital loo, with his close-cropped grey hair damp with sweat, the last vestiges of nausea wearing away and the tightly coiled knot in his stomach trying to twist itself free. He could feel the trembling in his hands, dropped loosely at his side.

Sure, he'd managed to save the patient's...

Martin stopped.

His wife. He had managed to save the life of his wife, despite his 'handicap'. He had known all along if he could just get in there, albeit deceitfully, he'd do the surgery quickly, brilliantly and well. Louisa was still alive, she was still in Cornwall. She was still there, because of him.

Yet that cruelly logical part of his brain was telling him otherwise.

Louisa had had enough, she had been bound for Spain to stay with her mother, taking their son with her. She had been so furious with him until the car that had hit her shook up both their world's. He had saved her life, but he was losing her.

He couldn't bear the thought of living without her, his beautiful, beloved Louisa. He also knew, definitively, he was finished as a surgeon.

The pain of it all lurked in his eyes, evidenced only by the single tear that slowly made its way down his face.


	2. Waltz

THOC "Illustrations" Challenge #2 Adoration

 **Waltz**

Was it possible for a village to keep a secret? Judging from the sidelong glances, knowing smiles and nods of approval, they could. Certainly there was jesting and the usual rampant gossip about who was with whom, in the Biblical sense, as Bert Large would say. Yet anyone living in Portwenn knew who it was their local doctor loved.

Their notoriously grumpy, stiff, formal, GP -with his permanent frown and scowl- was leading his wife out onto the dance floor. Doing his duty, as was required by new husbands to perform the traditional wedding dance. He looked natty and sharp in his suit and the bride radiant in her gown. The guests passed knowing looks, all of them endlessly amused by his starch formalities, looking more like he was going to an execution. They waited for certain mayhem with baited breath.

However, as the music began its first strains and he took his wife's hand in his, slipping the other around her waist, they all witnessed a transformation.

Already a very tall man, he appeared even more so as he squared his shoulders and slowly began to waltz his new bride around the floor. Anyone amongst the guests who thought the Doc would be all left feet at dancing got quite the surprise. (And that included the bride!) Their surprise turned into a silent delight as they saw his frown soften and that intimidating glare change. His gaze was fixed on his Louisa, a hint of wonder softening their intensity. Some of the guest would even swear that the slightest of smiles graced his lips. For the briefest moment their Doc put aside all the formalities, duties, and responsibilities of a wedding to focus solely on his new bride.

No one could deny that Martin Ellingham adored his wife.


	3. In the Private Moments

**Illustrations Challenge #8: Tenderness**

 **In the Private Moments**

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Portwenn's GP was notoriously grumpy. His reputation for ire and rudeness had traveled far up and down the North Cornwall coast and for many miles inland, truth be told.

Louisa, however, saw things that virtually no one knew about. Or would even believe should she tell them about it.

Doc Martin a softie?

No way!

There were moments though... unexpected moments. Out of the blue, whenever they were alone, he would reach out and run the back's of his fingers softly against her cheek and she could see in his eyes the depth of his feelings towards her. At other times the simple act of taking her hand in his, one that often left her feeling weak in the knees, ran utterly counter to the starch formality that was Doctor Ellingham. Louisa was ever fascinated by how surprisingly gentle and dexterous Martin's large hands could be.

She saw it even more whenever Martin interacted with his son. She'd see him at times, gently touching the top of James' head, placing a hand on his little belly and giving him a tiny jiggle. In a cosmically comic sense she couldn't ask for a better father to change a baby's diaper, or in one instance where she found him giving their son a bath. If Martin had any say about it, James would be clean!

Louisa saw these precious moments, when Martin would rest his cheek on top of James' head while holding the baby close. Or reading those ridiculously complex medical journals in a soft voice while James wriggled and grinned before dropping off to sleep.

Sure, no one would believe it, but there really was a compassionate side to Portwenn's GP. It was reserved exclusively and privately to his wife and child.


	4. Verbal Fencing

**Illustrations Challenge #6: Contempt - (disapproval tinged with disgust)**

 **Verbal Fencing**

Don't make the mistake of apologizing for Doctor Martin Ellingham.

Louisa found that out the hard way during an 'unfortunate' encounter between Ellingham and a tourist sunbather. He had spotted a possible melanoma on her that then lead to a spectacular display of social awkwardness. Louisa had, naturally, offered to go and explain just what he had meant, when Ellingham flatly told her he didn't need her to defend him.

In time she would come to understand that Martin really didn't need defending. Despite a childhood of shocking neglect, Ellingham had learned to stand up for himself. Even though he could be socially inept to the point of paralysis, Martin really could fight his own battles.

And fight them well.

He had developed a verbally lethal ability to cut people off at the knees whenever the situation depended on it. Even Adrian Pitts acknowledged being terrified by the man. Who else could get away with calling someone a platitudinizing eunuch? Or accuse the entire village as being puerile?

Martin Ellingham certainly was able to look after himself. He wielded anger, sarcasm, and contempt as well as he could wield a scalpel.


End file.
